Top priority for infrastructure in next plan: PM

New Delhi, Aug 15 (IANS) Infrastructure development will get top priority in the next Five Year Plan that starts 2012, especially to reach development to far flung areas that have no connectivity, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday.

“We are continuously strengthening the physical infrastructure in our country. This is an area that requires very large investments. It is for this reason that in the last seven years we have pursued policies to encourage investment in infrastructure,” the prime minister said in his Independence Day address at the Red Fort here.

“As a percentage of our GDP, investment in this area has grown more than one-and-a-half times in the last seven years,” he said.

As a result of the focus on infrastructure, there had been major improvements in India’s capacities in the petroleum and power generation sectors, as also in airports, roads, and ports, he said.

“As an illustration, the capacity in power generation that we are going to add in the 11th plan will be twice that of the 10th plan.

“In the 12th Plan (2012-13 to 2016-2017), we will further accelerate investment in infrastructure,” he said.

“We will pay special attention to the remote areas of our country and to rural areas. Connecting such areas by rail and road will get the top most priority.”